At Least That Much
by TealGurl
Summary: What would happen should a lonely king cross paths with the mysterious woman from his buried past? A short oneshot of Ice King and Betty interacting with one another in modern Ooo.


FORWARD

This was a little ficlet that I wrote a LONG time ago and rediscovered recently, and it is shockingly kind of still relevant. So, I thought that I'd share it with you all "just for the lols".

It's a bit off, but essentially what's going on here is that Ice King is being creepy and watching Betty through the window of her house. Enjoy…?

oOoOo

It wasn't the usual loneliness that drove the Ice King to venture outside the frigid confines of his realm that star-strung evening. Nor was it the typical perversion that caused him to stop at this strange woman's home, hoping to catch a glimpse of her if just for a short moment.

Twas not any of those negative feelings that usually enveloped him, burning at his pale blue skin with a bitter cold. It was a strange, newfound curiosity. An odd, alluring sense of wondering about this strange new person who'd been seen wandering about Ooo.

As he touched the paneled glass of the house's window with a gnarled, talon-like hand, the bottom corner blossomed into ferny patterns of delicate frost, enveloping a good quarter of the area until he almost reluctantly pulled it back once more. Her house shouldn't have been anything of a particular interest, and yet… Somehow, ever since the day the human had settled here, he'd find himself stealing glances at the once-abandoned farmhouse from a distance, always wondering about everything and nothing until just watching and thinking was no longer enough.

From inside, a light flickered on.

The pale blue frost became gilded, though its beauty was not enough to catch his attention as his slightly-furrowed eyes watched intently, waiting. It was with slow, weighted steps that she moved into his line of sight, coming alarmingly close, but never one looking up. With those small, almost sluggish strides, she walked over to open the nearby door of the farmhouse so as to let in the welcoming night breeze of summer, almost immediately turning her back and busying herself with something at the ancient kitchenette. His head cocked to one side, he glanced down at his hands once more for no reason, startled to the point of falling to the ground when she spoke out.

"Simon, that is by far the creepiest thing you've ever done,"

Foreign to the Ice King as it was, the mere mention of the name was enough to send a jolt of clarity through him. Hurriedly, as though to somehow mend his misdeeds, he straightened himself to find her leaning out from the now-opened window.

"How did yo-"

She silenced him with a melancholy smile and a gesture to come inside, all before turning back to her unofficial home.

"Wh...wha?"

"Please, come in," she clarified gently, albeit loudly so that he might be able to hear through the stone walls.

Flabbergasted, he flew away from the window and stepped in through the nearby door, hardly able to take his eyes off of her. Moving about gracefully, she set two cups down on a table, followed by a steaming teapot, and sat down. She tilted her head lightly in an innocent manner, once more motioning to him.

Almost reluctantly, he sat down across from the strange woman, accepting her hospitable invitation.

The crown was telling him not to, that this person was bad and only wanted to hurt him. They insisted that no good would come of her, but one look at her doleful, tender face convinced him otherwise.

"So you don't remember anything?"

"Remember what?"

She pursed her lips and started pouring the tea, offering one of the mismatched mugs out to him. Skeptically, he accepted, and asked her the question that he thought that he already knew the answer to.

"Do I know you?"

"Yes,"

Her blunt answer managed to shock him even more, her willingness to accept any sort of connection to him beyond unexpected.

"Really? Wow…"

For a moment, she forwent basic manners and just stared, taking in his appearance. Simon looked ancient and goblin-esque, blue skin and white eyes clearly showing that he was no longer human. How changed he was… Seeing him like this was enough to send shivers down her spine.

But he had to still be himself. Somewhere deep down...he just...he just _had to..._

"Ты понимаешь меня?"

"What? What did you say?"

The frown on her gentle face deepened.

"Never mind…"

She sipped her tea softly, closing her eyes to enjoy it as the steam clouded her egg-shaped glasses.

The Ice King watched her with a strange feeling, one that he wasn't sure that he liked.

She was different...mysterious...captivating. He didn't want to kidnap her for some reason, he just wanted...he just…

His thoughts went astray for a moment.

_He didn't know what he wanted. _

The crown hissed and commanded him to leave, but he ignored its threatening voice.

Being around her filled him with such regret...

Such pain...

But it was different.

It wasn't the lonely pain that he normally endured.

It was a bittersweet thing, a strange moment of comforting agony.

It was a good kind of suffering.

But that made no sense.

"Who are you?" he blurted desperately.

She set her cup down, seeming surprised, though not in any way displeased, at his question. Her face softened as she pondered how to answer.

"I am…"

Her voice trailed off.

_She didn't really know either._

"I'm not from around here... " She began with a little laugh that was void of any genuine humor. "I'm from a long time ago, from a place far away."

Her words were heavy...heavy enough to sink in. They confused him, but he understood them at the same time. Those words were an island in the raging sea of voices in his head

She gave him another sad smile.

"We are very alike, you and I…"

He looked up at her bespectacled eyes and marveled at their vibrant green color.

He almost recognized her gentle voice...and that reddish hair framing her pale skin. The beautiful face that he had once loved, though not just for its beauty. The person whom words could not describe that he had once mourned.

Yes.

She was indeed a princess.

Not a princess like the others though.

Different.

Much different.

Special.

...

"My name…is Betty-"

The whispers in his head grew to agonizing screams that demanded that he leave. Raging, they blotted out the regret and forced him to stand up. He didn't want to go, but soon he was lost in the flood of visions, drowning in the demons that held him captive.

With a sad expression, she got up and watched him leave.

It was painful to see him like this... Disturbing, to say the least.

But it still pained her even more to watch him go.

To know that he'd lived like this for so long.

He didn't deserve this...

Before the Ice King was out of earshot, she called out,

"Я люблю тебя, Саймон. Помните, что."

Sloppily, she wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her wrist and turned back inside with a heavy heart.

"At _least_ remember _that _much…"


End file.
